1289/FIX HER!

FIX HER!
Date of Scene:	15 March 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	After Sunbreaker's recent encounter with She-Ra's temperment (and sword), Double Trouble finds themselves in a race against time to keep their unicorn. Forcing them to track down Mamoru and ruin the prince's date with his princess, Usagi.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino, Double Trouble, Hinoiri Kirara

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The breeze coming in from the cracked-open window is cool and fresh, and Mamoru's got some lo-fi music playing on his phone, and both desk lamps are on but the overheads are off, which means the room's well-enough lit but not annoyingly bright.

Usagi and Mamoru are both on Mamoru's bed; he sits with his back against the wall and brushes her hair, carefully, in sections from the bottom up-- he's working on one twintail right now, as he's listening to the music and Usagi.

It's quiet and peaceful.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's peaceful and quiet; studies have been put aside, phones dumped in a corner, roommates happily put off, cats ditched on unsuspectng friends. The breeze carries the sounds of the outside world, happily distant thanks to the room being high off the ground.

There aren't many people allowed to touch Usagi's hair, let alone brush it, but Mamoru is one of them. Of course he is.

Between the two of them, the room is tranquil, and Usagi is half-asleep, little noises escaping every so often, when Mamoru finds a tangle and gently works it free.

Double Trouble has posed:
Duskporting is an imprecise and error-prone method of travel, but it was the only option Double Trouble had to get them to Radiant Heart Academy in the fleeting time Hinoiri had left. They still weren't as skilled at it as Hinoiri or Riventon, but they had practiced it enough that they were better than some. Fortunately, Radiant Heart sat right in the center of the city, between Clover and Obsidian towers. Not that the dusk zone mapped directly to the geography, but still. It gave them some references and an easier target than some.

They got closer this time. Their familiarity with Obsidian Tower meant they got pulled a little farther into Mitakihara, but they could see the entrance to Radiant Heart. If they ran at their top speed, they might actually make it. "Hold on tight, darling," they murmur, before they set off so fast they kick up a little cloud of debris behind them.

They're themselves: green and glorious with long yellow hair, and a prehensile tail. Up until now they'd tried to keep their presence in this world a secret, and now they just didn't care. Not only did this form give them the best advantage for getting Hinoiri to the healing Riventon had promised, it was also her favorite. She preferred the real, inhuman Double Trouble, and they loved her for that.

They zipped through the gates, and across the quad at inhuman speed, only slowing down enough to navigate the doors and stairs and hallways of the boys dormitory. They find the room Riventon told them to go to and their tail comes up, the end coiled up into a ball and manages a rather convincingly urgent sounding knock at the door. And another. And another. They don't stop knocking.

"Please help!" They call out. "She's dying in my arms."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
It was a waste. Sunbreaker... knew that. Sunbreaker knew she wasn't going to survive. She was dying, this was the end. Did she have any regrets?

... So many.

If she'd just been stronger. Faster. If she'd been less lazy. If she hadn't slacked off. If she'd just been worth it. If she'd... if she'd just been everything she had wanted to be, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm... sorry..." she whispered. Henshin flickered. They entered the main gate and it flickered. Made it to the dorm building, it flickered. Three times up the steps.

It hurt. She was tired. So, so tired. She just wanted to give in. To close her eyes...

To let it go and stop fighting. To, just this once, stop fighting. To just let it happen....

... But... but she couldn't. Even now she was too stubborn to just let herself die. Worse, she was too stubborn to just let herself die in Double Trouble's arms.

She'd die, but it would be when she was in the care of whatever other jackass was helping her. Because she was beyond saving... but... she desperately... didn't want... Double Trouble to have to feel like they hadn't been enough. That if they'd just been stronger, faster...

Even like this, she couldn't let that happen.

But, as it was, her henshin was flickering and there was a little smoke, but almost no flames to the normally burning girl.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh, for--" Mamoru says when the knocking starts, putting the brush down; he starts to call back that it's unlocked, but then Double Trouble's voice comes through the door too, and the words have the black-haired boy practically jumping over Usagi in a bid to yank the door open.

"Put her down on the floor," he says firmly, reaching out to take one of Sunbreaker's smoking hands; there's an immediate gold glow, warm like sunlight, that surrounds the clasped hands immediately. (The pain stops. She knows this feeling.)

Mamoru's voice again: "Usako, can you get some towels? In the wardrobe on the shelf--"

Of course he notices the flickering henshin. Of course he does.

Of COURSE he notices the lizard person who is carrying Sunbreaker. The pretty and graceful lizard person whose movements remind him a little bit of someone.

He doesn't react right now. He might later, but for now, he's following them down, and his other hand glows and stops over the mess of Sunbreaker's abdomen.

"Hey, Sunbreaker. You're not gonna die in front of Usagi, are you?" he murmurs.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Seriously?" Double Trouble will hear through the door, the aggrieved exclamation of a girl who thought that surely if she just hung out with her boyfriend in his room they could go undisturbed. "Wait - what?!"

The sound of words registering, of shock and surprise, and then even as Mamoru is jumping over her, Usagi is fumbling out of his bed, flailing around to get her feet under her. The door is burst open. There's a lizard person in the hallway, in the door, a familiar lizard person, but there's red and gold hair too, a limp body, and Usagi runs for the wardrobe before she can look again, because she already sees it, the blood, the desperation, and she doesn't need to be useless. Not here.

An armful of towels is snagged from the wardrobe, as many as Usagi can fit into her arms, and she barrels back, dropping to her knees so the towels can be clean on her lap instead of dumped to the floor.

"I've got them," she says, uselessly, because now she can't look away. "What - what happened?"

Horror in her voice, fear and the beginnings of grief and stubborn denial, and the dim flickers of anger.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble sweeps into the room and gently lays Sunbreaker down on the floor where Mamoru indicated. They move quickly but not so quickly he can't hold her hand and work his magic. As soon as she's on the floor they take a big step back and let their tail wrap around their waist and squeeze. It's reassuring when they're anxious.

Their eyes remain fixed on Sunbreaker and Mamoru, but they hear Usagi. And they just start talking. "The same thing that always happens. She made a stupid mistake, it blew up out of proportion, I made it worse, and then she paid the price in pain," they say, the guilt in every syllable.

"She-Ra ran her thru with the Sword of Protection."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara suddenly... didn't feel it anymore. No more pain. Just... "I-I'm... sorry... Double... I-I tried..." she whispered.

So this was what death felt like? To... fade out like that? The golden glow was nice. It brought a small smile to her lips. There were rumors, of course. That when a pony died, Sora came for them. Her golden rays would wash over them one last time... Sora said it was nonsense, but Hinoiri had always kind of hoped.

Seemed it was true...

She opened her eyes and gave a low, pathetic chuckle, followed by a weak, delicate cough. Everything was so cloudy she couldn't even see anything. "Finally... came for me... Sora? Too... late... though... guess you were right..."

"I always... was just... a disappointment..."

And then...

Then her henshin collapsed. And her eyes closed... and she went limp.

She wasn't dead, though. Not yet. But Mamoru, of all people, could feel it. How her life was just hanging on that single thread. So... close... to snapping...

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Hey!" Mamoru says sharply, and then-- oh.

No wonder it was okay that Sunbreaker knew Sailor Moon's identity.

The tenth grade boy gets this look on his face and pours energy in: pushing out anything that could cause infection from where that blade might have gotten her internally-- "Okay, put a folded one under her head, and then one on either side of her hips, just to keep her still," he says absently, "please. Don't worry she's just unconscious. I made the pain stop for now."

Then he shuts up again because he's knitting things together that no one can see, and he's trying to do it fast, and he's keeping her stable while he works, and he's so annoyed. He's so annoyed.

(That helps him. The annoyance works better than anything that could lead to panic.)

More energy-- the warmth of the sun on grass in a butterfly-filled meadow; the calm of a clear still pool in a primeval forest glade; the strength of mountains and the gentleness of a snowflake falling on bright hair. More energy-- it's not Sora, it's not Kirakirafantastica, it's only Earth, it's only this blue marble filling so much of the moon's sky...

"Come on, troublemaker," he murmurs, "you wouldn't want Hematite to see you like this, would you?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"If that's what always happens," Usagi bites out, folding a town to put under Hinoiri's head, as asked, "Then maybe you should break the pattern."

Two towels, carefully placed by Hinoiri's hips. She's staring at Mamoru's hands, remembering the warm glow of the healing, confident it will be alright, because she'll use her silver crystal like a battery if she has to -

"Wait - "

Again, delayed realization, and she jerks her head up, staring at Double Trouble in horror - "She-Ra did this? To Hinoiri?! W- just now?!"

And that, of course, is when her phone beeps, just as the henshin collapses, and she knows she can't go anywhere, but she still grabs it, because - it is indeed Bow.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble's tail unwinds from around their waist and flicks behind them and then winds back around their waist the other way. They're anxious and they can't spare any effort to hide it. They're too busy not falling apart entirely. They inch a little closer, still giving Mamoru room to work, but just getting a better view of Hinoiri. One of their hands reaches up and starts pinching the skin on their neck and they rock back and forth from foot to foot.

"Yes. She-Ra caught her by surprise," they say, their affect still quite flat. They can't risk putting much feeling into their words, lest the dam burst and they just fall apart. "While she was setting up the trap we were going to spring to pull the dark energy out of She-Ra."

Usagi's phone beeps and they glance over toward her for just a moment. Hinoiri's not really changing much right now. They're confident she's in good hands at this point.

"I try to break the pattern, but I've never met someone who can so reliably take the wrong idea away from every single lesson quite like she can." When they say it, it's the first time they put any emotion in. They can't help but sound in love when they talk about their dramacorn.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was so far away, mentally. Was so... trapped... so lost. Dying. Was this what it was like to die? She didn't know. She felt it was... she...

She was safe... she was... safe... She whimpered and a few tears formed in her eyes and she tried to move, just a little... but couldn't. She...

"I'm so... sorry... I just... wanted..."

"... I'm... st... so... ti...ed... ruin...g...ing... just..."

And then her hand reached out, just grabbed Mamoru's by the wrist. Her eyes opening. "W-wh..."

And then the hand let go and she dropped again. Back into dream land... back into...

"D... Dee..." she whispered. Ever so softly. Mouthing gently... "... rfect..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I've got her, Usa," Mamoru says, actually glancing away from Hinoiri and focusing on his girlfriend for a second. "If anyone else needs help like this, I'll probably need your help with them, but I've got her. Go get Sailor Moon to help stop She-Ra. We'll be fine."

Then he looks at Double Trouble for a second, and his eyebrows go up. "I dunno, Riventon's pretty good at wrong lessons too," he offers with a small, strained, very lopsided smile.

Glancing down at Hinoiri, whose hand's come up to grab his wrist, he looks unimpressed. "That's the best you can do? All right, one more round, and maybe I won't tell that pegasus Swiftwind on you."

'Hematite' almost got her. Almost. Maybe this will work.

The internal bleeding's been stopped, flesh knit back together, and Mamoru's beginning to flag a little, but he rallies with determination, positive that they'll be done soon. He holds Hinoiri's hand more tightly, and the energy is quiet like the music some distant part of Mamoru realizes is still playing, from the corner of the room where his phone is.

It's the turn of the seasons, it's playing in fields, it's sweet-smelling hay and cold fresh water, it's golden sunshine-- and it's flooding Hinoiri with renewed vigor, bright and warm through a morning window and it's time to wake up, bright and warm like a bonfire on a hill to dark-adapted eyes.

Mamoru's breathing is purposely, shudderingly even, and so is his voice when he says to Double Trouble, "She's still lost blood and I can't regenerate that. She might need antibiotics. I don't know if you go to school here, but Nurse Meiou can hook her up with what she needs after this. She's going to be fine and she's going to have to behave herself for, I don't know, a week. She's strong or I'd say two."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Hinoiri's voice, desperate and tired, and the lizard person's, and Usagi is so - so worried - tears are in the corners of her eyes, frustrated and scared. She reaches down, pressing a hand delicately to Hinoiri's shoulder, scared to touch her and scared not to.

"If you're sorry, then stay with us, Hinoiri!" No honorific, just the name, intimate and desperate, afraid, and she looks at Dee - that's the only one, right? - "You're the new person she's dating, right? The one who meant she didn't need a sleepover? Well, then you know Hinoiri's so smart she loops back around to dumb sometimes, and she always takes the wrong lesson, and she's always - she's always having bad ideas, so you have to remember someone has to be responsible." Which is making unfair. Maybe Dee has tried to be responsible. But Usagi doubts it, because love is complimentary, right? Responsibility isn't something Hinoiri-chan really understands either -

"I'm guessing... trying to help She-Ra didn't go very well," and she's also guessing they weren't really trying to help Adora. But -

"Mamochan, are you..."

Of course he's sure.

"Alright - I'll... I'll go get Sailor Moon - so, Dee, you better make sure you look after them!" Biting her lip, Usagi texts to the rescue chat, and goes racing out the door. Only once she's all the way out of the dorm building does she raise her compact.

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble had been giving Mamoru space, but the moment sound passes thru Hinoiri's lips, they are at her side on their knees. They move so fast. They reach out and take hold of her free hand. Because she totally has a free hand, right? They take it in both of theirs and hold it to their chest. "Don't you dare give up now you insufferable unicorn," they say, their weird vertical eyelids blinking as tears stream down their face. Those are real tears too. The one thing they can't fake.

"Swiftwind is an alicorn," Double Trouble corrects before they even think that maybe he's trying to get her to. They give Hinoiri's hand another squeeze. Nobody seems to know the difference, but they do.

They look up at Usagi as she talks about responsibility. They try to be responsible. They try to keep Hinoiri out of trouble. But they're Hinoiri's chameleon, not her cricket. They eat crickets for breakfast. Of course, Hinoiri would not have blown up their dorm room if it weren't for Double Trouble. She might not have gotten stabbed if it weren't for them either. So maybe Usagi's got a point.

They just stare at Usagi for a long moment, for once in their life speechless. Then she leaves, and Mamoru is talking about Nurse Meiou. "Yeah, I can take her to see Nurse Meiou," they say, just a little absently as their attention turns back to Hinoiri's face, and her hand in theirs. "Hopefully she's there."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara let out a soft, peaceful sigh when her hand was grabbed. Slowly, her eyes opened and she looked up at Double Trouble. And then... very slowly... "I... I'm sorry... I didn't... mean to... mess up your performance..." she whispered. "W-wait. Did... did you die? Are you... dead too? I-I'm so sorry, I--" Then her eyes moved to Mamoru.

And, slowly, she blinked. As her brain moved. "You're... Usagi's boyfriend." Pause. "You heal people." Another pause. "You're... healing me... aren't you?"

Blink blink. Blink.. "By Sora's feathers... am... am I alive?" she asked, slowly looking up at Double Trouble. "H-how... why... I..."

Blink blink. Blink. Blink blink. "Dee. Sweetie... I... I need you to do something... for me... I... I'm exhausted... or I'd do it myself..." she whispered.

"I... I think someone said Hematite... is here... if he is... I need you to punch him. Hard... also... don't... let him know we're here. He might be trying to... finish me off. I--" She tried to sit up... only to crash back down with an oof. "O-oh... That... that didn't feel good. I... I think my everything aches... but I don't... hurt... I don't..."

She closed her eyes and then, ever so softly... "What... did I ever do to deserve this?" she asked softly. Her hand tightening on Double Trouble's. "I-I messed up... I... I ruined everything... why... why not just leave me?" she asked them. Then she glared at Mamoru. "I-I'm your... your enemy! I'm at least Usagi's! W-why? why help me? W-why is anyone here helping me? I failed! This was my fault, why aren't you just pointing and LAUGHING?!" she asked, fresh tears in her eyes. She'd storm off, but she was too exhausted to even sit up, much less run. All she could do was give more feeble squeezes of Double Trouble's hand.

Then her gaze turned back to the reptile and... "Please... don't... don't go..."

"... And you know Swiftwind's an alicorn..." And there was *so much* love in the way she said it to them.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru just smiles at Usagi. Of course he's sure-- and then she's gone, and his world's a little less bright. For now. For now, he can make sure this lizard person's world stays well-lit.

"It's safe to put her to bed, just... messy," says Mamoru to Double Trouble, sighing out his soul and sitting back on his heels, finally letting the glow die down, finally letting go of Hinoiri's hand and taking his other away from her midsection.

He looks at Hinoiri, eyebrows up. "Hematite's actually really sorry about the rose. But he couldn't handle the dark energy and he's laying low, since he's not much of a fighter without it." Crooked grin. "All he can do is heal people."

Finally, the boy hauls himself up off the floor and sits on his bed, stretching out his legs again. "You can just both go back to your room and call Nurse Meiou. If you, Dee-san, can't get hold of her tonight and you, Kirara-san, start running a fever, take some tylenol or something and give me a call. But you should be fine overnight."

A beat. "You can punch me some other time. For now, get out of here, you're being sappy after interrupting my date."

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble is too focused on Hinoiri to even deny that it's their room. It's Dianora's name on the paperwork, but it is their room. People do stupid things for love like forget to be careful about information. They're grateful for their necklace that makes it so hard to put those facts together into an inference.

They look at this boy who just saved Hinoiri's life and they blink. It's so weird how their eyelids come in from the sides. The ones they blink at least. "You know I pulled that rose out of her hand," they say, as they let go of her hand so they can slide their arms under her neck and knees. "Don't worry. I've got you, darling. I'm not going anywhere." Except their room.

Using their tail to balance them they lift her up as they hop up from knees to feet. Super fast, super strong, and they can look like anybody. They really are the perfect themfriend for Hinoiri. They don't waste time, moving to the door. Their tail reaches up and wraps around the handle, pulling it open and then they turn to look at Mamoru again.

"Thank you," they say, then they glance down at the spot on the floor where Usagi had been sitting before looking back up. "Sorry for ruining your date."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. Was... was he saying what he... Blink blink. Blink. Bliiiiiink. Staring at him. He... That... Was he....

"... Your work uniform made you look stupid," she finally settled on saying. Unsure of what else to say to him right then. She... didn't like him. At all. Nope. Not even a little bit. She wanted him thrown off the roof.

... But Mamoru was okay.

She looked up at Double Trouble and then gave a small nod. "O-okay. Let's... let's be quiet... my roommate is probably at her club or something anyway... she doesn't get home until late..." She made Double Trouble burn one identity for her... she wasn't going to make her burn another. Her little star was... well...

... She had a thing for orbital bodies.

She didn't even hug Double Trouble, just letting the reptile hold her close as she was carried like a princess, resting her head on their shoulder. She whispered softly to her, just loud enough for Mamoru to hear.

"I learned something very important from all of this... if I ever accidentally dark energy one of those sparkle skirts again... I'm just grabbing Riventon and everyone and we're yanking it out *immediately*... never just expecting it to wear off like that again... that girl... is messed up... o-ow... I hope I don't look as bad as I feel..."